What Are the Least Developed Countries (LDCs)?

Forty-eight countries are currently designated by the United Nations as “least developed countries” (LDCs). The list is reviewed every three years by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

The criteria underlying the current list of LDCs are:

-- A low income, as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP), per capita;

-- Weak human resources, as measured by a composite index (Augmented Physical Quality of Life Index), based on indicators of life expectancy at birth, per capita calorie intake, combined primary and secondary school enrolment, and adult literacy;

-- A low level of economic diversification, as measure by a composite index (Economic Diversification Index), based on the share of manufacturing in CDP, the share of the labour force in industry, annual per capita commercial energy consumption, and UNCTAD’s merchandise export concentration index.

Different thresholds are used for inclusion in, and graduation from, the list. A country qualifies to be added to the list of LDCs if it meets inclusion thresholds on all three criteria. A country qualifies for graduation from the list if it meets graduation thresholds on two of the three criteria. For the low-income criterion, the threshold on which inclusion in the current list is based has been a CDP per capita of $800, and the threshold for graduation has been a GDP per capita of $900. In its July 200 review, in the light of recommendations by the Committee for Development Policy, ECOSOC declared the eligibility of Senegal for designation as LDC (subject to the Government so desiring) and decided to postpone until 2001 its consideration of Maldives’ graduation.

The criteria for determining the list of LDCs are under review. The Committee for Development Policy has recommended that the Economic Diversification Index be replaced by an Economic Vulnerability Index reflection the main external shocks to which many low-income countries are subject, and incorporating the main structural elements of the countries’ exposure to the shocks, including their smallness and lack of diversification.

The following countries are now listed as LDCs:

Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Dem. Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Lao People’s Dem. Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands Somalia, Sudan Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Vanuatu, Yemen, Zambia            

Source: UNCTAD